Verizon Wireless recently added a new cell site behind Wal-Mart on Damonte Ranch Parkway in south Reno. The site is co-located on a monopole with antennas for T-Mobile, Sprint, Cricket, Clearwire and AT&T Wireless.

The Reno Gazette-Journal posted an article recently that lists the current roll-out schedule for the wireless carrier’s 4th generation data network in the Reno area. Bottom line: T-Mobile’s is already active, the other 3 major carriers had no specific timetable.

Timetable updated July 2013:

T-Mobile: Now
AT&T: By 2013, but nothing more specific – Launched LTE December 2012
Verizon: No estimated date – Launched LTE September 2011
Sprint: No estimated date Washoe County – Expected to launch LTE July 2013

Many people complain about indoor cell phone reception – particularly in their home or office. The major wireless providers have addressed this problem by providing miniature cell sites or “femtocells” to enhance coverage in areas up to approximately 5000 square feet. A recent article on PC World goes in-depth about how to get the best cell phone reception possible with personal femtocells and other devices.

Edit 4/4/10: The AT&T 3G MicroCell will be available for sale in Reno on April 5. See their website for more info.

AT&T is expected to make their 3G MicroCell available this month to customers in the Reno area. The device is a femtocell – a small device that connects to a broadband internet connection and improves cell phone reception to a limited area, such as a home. Brian Klug has posted a very detailed article on Anandtech about femtocell’s that are now available through all 4 U.S. major cell carriers. Read the full article here.

2009 was an uneventful year for new cell sites in the Reno area. T-Mobile was most active adding the most new cell sites and turning on their 3G voice & data network in 2009. Cricket added coverage in the Spanish Springs area. Otherwise, all other carriers did not add coverage via new cell sites this year according to our sources.

For 2010 Verizon Wireless has a new cell site planned for southwest Reno near the Washoe Golf Course. AT&T has a cell site planned to improve coverage in the Somersett area of northwest Reno.

In the new year posts to this website will occur as new cell sites are known, and other major carrier news is announced. For more frequent updates, check out our Twitter MicroBlog Updates in the left column of this website, or follow us from your Twitter account @RenoWireless.

Verizon Wireless has announced plans to acquire Alltel, which will result in Verizon Wireless becoming the nations largest wireless carrier and improve their native (non-roaming) coverage in much of rural Nevada outside of the Reno area.

“…Verizon Wireless customers in more Nevada locations can now get e-mail, real-time corporate data, access to the Internet and much more at faster speeds. As the company rolls out its high-speed broadband network today, coverage now extends to:

• Elko, Ely, Hawthorne, and Reno – including Interstate 80 and Highway 50 between Reno and Sacramento, as well as the area surrounding Lake Tahoe.

Based on CDMA 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) technology, the expanded wireless broadband network provides Verizon Wireless customers with data uplink speeds significantly faster than the company’s award-winning national EV-DO network, which the company first launched in northern Nevada in December, 2006…”

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Cell Site Picture of the Week

This is a Sprint-Nextel cell site located in Virginia City. Antennas are hidden inside the top of the flagpole. See the
Cell Site Picture Gallery
to view pictures of over 95 cell sites from the Reno/Tahoe area.